Karel Lamac Movies

In this WWII drama, James Mason plays naval commander Richard Heritage, who is distracted from his duties by a beautiful young woman who is secretly in cahoots with Nazi spies. By accident, Heritage lets her discover the sailing dates of American warships. The mistake costs the U.S. Navy a war ship and costs Heritage his post. After his court-martial, he sets off to find the girl who tripped him up and discovers that she has been killed. With the help of Laura Verity (Joyce Howard), he uncovers the Nazi spy ring, which is being operated under the guise of a British theatrical agency in the seaside town of Blackpool. The head of the outfit is master spy Christopher Child (Tom Walls), a fearsome villain. Heritage hopes to redeem himself and win the heart of Laura by defeating Child and his schemes. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Filmed in Britain by Czechoslovakian director Karel Lamac, Schweik's New Adventures is a based on a book by Czech humorist Jaroslav Hasek-a pungent piece of anti-Nazi propaganda that managed a widespread European distribution right under the noses of the Gestapo! Lloyd Pearson stars as the "Good Soldier" Schweik, a goodnatured schlemiel who manages to squeak through life by plain dumb luck. The thing of it is, Schweik's stupidity reveals the even greater imbecilities of the Third Reich-much to the dismay of a pompous Gestapo chief (Julian Mitchell). The well chosen supporting cast includes a young Richard Attenborough as a resourceful railway worker. The whimsy of the Hasek original gives way to music-hall slapstick in Con West's screen adaptation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The merry monarch of the title is King Louis XV of France, here rechristened "Ludwig" and played by Alfred Neugebaur. For most of the film however, the king is shunted off to the background, while the spotlight is shifted to provincial coachman Chapelou (Willy Eichberger). Gaining fame as a singer, Chapelou is whisked off to Versailles, where he catches the eye of royal mistress Madame Pompadour (Thekla Ahrens), who tries to dispose of Chapelou's wife Madelaine (Rose Stradner) by confining her to her home. But Madelaine has her revenge when she shows up at the King's palace, posing as the Countess Latour. Yes, the King smiles, but not before La Pompadour is given plenty of reason to frown. This frothy costume escapade was originally released as Der Postillon von Lonjumeau. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Flitterwochen (Honeymoon) is based on The Dangerous Ingeborg, a comic novel by Else von Steinkeller. It all begins when spoiled newlywed Anny Ondra insists upon bringing her huge pet dog along on her honeymoon. Finally, her husband Han Sohker can stand no more; he plants a firm but gentle slap on her cheek and storms out of the bridal chamber. Heading home herself to lick her wounds, the bored Ondra talks her waitress friend into finding her a job at a fancy mountain resort. The laughs begin piling up when our heroine is forced to wait on her own husband. Much of the action takes place during a real-life winter carnival, which in its own way is more interesting than the plotline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The English-language title of this German musical is A Girl From the Chorus. That girl is Henriette (Anny Ondra), who when first we meet her is a lowly prompter with her uncle's theatrical troupe. Anxious to get a break, Henriette talks her chorus-girlfriend Liesbeth (Ursula Grabney) to let her go on in Liesbeth's place. Instead of becoming an overnight star, our heroine completely messes up the show. But it isn't stage fright that brought about Henriette's fiasco -- it's the fact that she has fallen in love with Liesbeth's beau Hans (Viktor Staal) and is afraid to tell her. The key to Ein Maedel vom Ballett is "expect the unexpected." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This German period piece is a relatively faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Little Dorrit. The title character, a seamstress named Amy Dorrit, is played by former Hitchcock leading lady Anny Ondra then better-known as the wife of heavyweight boxing champion Max Schmeling. Loyally living with her father (Gustav Waldau) in debtor's prison, Amy falls in love with wealthy Arthur Clennam (Mathias Wiemann). Alas, Arthur's parents have forbidden the romance, and the poor boob is too ineffectual to do something about it. The plot is resolved by Amy' father, who turns out not to be as helpless as he seems. Klein Dorrit manages to tell its story in 71 minutes; the 1988 British remake covered the same ground in six hours. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Der Hexer was based on The Sorcerer, a detective story by workhorse British author Edgar Wallace. The original story was a thrilling, intricately plotted murder mystery involving a master criminal and a wily detective. According to contemporary reviews, however, the film version threw out much of the suspense and excitement in favor of dull dialogue passages. This is surprising, in that its director was the usually reliable Karl Lamac. Of the actors, only Karl Ettlinger, playing what amounted to the comedy-relief character, was singled out for any praise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two directors collaborated on this Austrian-made comedy, which was filmed simultaneously in French- and German-language versions. The title translates as Should We Wed Them?, and it's all about the romance between Anny Ondra, daughter of college professor Lucien Baroux, and circus performer Jean-Pierre Aumont. The hero wants to marry the heroine, but she will lose a huge inheritance unless she marries a businessman. But Ondra doesn't care anything about money, and soon she's training herself for the rigors of circus life, including a dangerous act involving a lion's cage (the film's highlight). Most of the laughs are provided by Lucien Baroux, who could steal a scene merely by arching his eyebrows. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Der Zinker (To Squeal) was based on The Squeaker, a mystery play by Edgar Wallace. The hero is a Scotland Yard detective who poses as an ex-convict. It's all part of a strategy to capture a notorious and elusive fence known as "The Squeaker," who cloaks his criminal activities behind a facade of charitable respectability. Evidently, this German adaptation ran far afield of the Wallace original, since its plot was disjointed and its character motivations unbelievable. An English-language version of The Squeaker, directed by Wallace himself, was released in 1930. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide